Sunday was the Bluegrass Festival at the Ulster-American Folk Park, just outside Omagh. The previous Sunday I had attended the Mela, the Indian community gathering in Belfast.

Both were hugely enjoyable. The Mela was a festival of, music, dance,  food and crafts. The Indian community in particular - and Northern Ireland's ethnic minorities in general - showed their pride. Belfast's Botanic Gardens were packed. Northern Ireland is no longer the completely white society it still imagines itself to be.

The Bluegrass Festival was about the music. Like the Mela, the Folk Park was packed.

Both catered for an older demographic than most festivals. At the Mela, there was no alcohol on sale. At the Folk Park, there was a bar: on Sunday, there was no sign of excessive drinking.

Despite there being thousands of people at both events, I felt none of that threat of drink-fuelled violence that lies under the surface so often in Ireland and Britain when large numbers gather.

That violence is a problem. I live close to John Street in Omagh. Two young people died within 100 feet of one another there as a result of drunken violence within seven months. One was on John Street, the other round the corner on the Kevlin Road.

The problem of drink and violence has been building up for years. It is linked to the nature of society. Steps need to be taken over a period of years.

The lesson of the Mela and the Bluegrass is that large numbers can socialise without drunken violence. They thus enjoy themselves far better. Thus this problem can, in some way, be solved.